Mirfozil (Fazil) Khasanov
worked for US
and international human rights and humanitarian organizations in education,
training and torture prevention projects. He co-authored articles on civil
society development in Uzbekistan and was responsible for the project of
official translation of international humanitarian law instruments into
Uzbek.

Positioned on the ancient Great Silk Road linking Europe
and Asia, the Republic of Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central
Asia. Its population numbers 30,183,400 . The total territory of the republic
covers 447,400 sq. km (172,700 sq. miles). It borders Kyrgyzstan in the east,
Kazakhstan in the north, Tajikistan in the southeast, Afghanistan in the south
and Turkmenistan in the west. The capital of Uzbekistan is the city of
Tashkent. For a long time Samarkand, Bukhara, Chores and other cities of
Uzbekistan
[i]
were famed as trade and
cultural centers.

The predominant religion in Uzbekistan is Islam. Eastern
Orthodox and other faiths are also represented. The state language is Uzbek.
The Russian language continues to be used in business correspondence and
official documents as well as in everyday communication.

During the World War II, Uzbekistan became a home for over
a million refugees evacuated from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other Soviet
republics. Some 1,430,000 people from Uzbekistan fought against the Nazi
Germany, while a number of them joined the German Army to become the Turkestan
legion and to fight to free their country.

After the August 18, 1991 coup-d’état against the Soviet
President Mikhail Gorbachev failed, Uzbekistan announced its independence on
31, August 1991.
See more
.

Uzbekistan consists of 12 provinces, one autonomous entity
and an independent city. The provinces, Karakalpakstan and Tashkent city are divided
into districts. Karakalpakstan is an autonomous republic with own Constitution
and national flag.

2.
Legal
System of Uzbekistan

The contemporary law of the Republic of Uzbekistan belongs
to a civil law family and is in transition from the Soviet law
[ii]
to modern legal standards. The hierarchy of the Uzbekistani law includes: the
Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, constitutional laws, codes,
ordinary laws, decrees of the President of Uzbekistan, decrees of the Cabinet
of Ministers, and other normative legal acts.
The law on normative legal acts
provides for supremacy of the Constitution and laws of Uzbekistan in its
territory. International law and treaties require implementation to be
enforced.

Constitutional laws constitute a fundamental part of
public legislation and deal with the rules concerning the Constitution and
governing the electoral and political processes. They include the legislation
as follows:

·
"On the Foundations of State
Independence of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1991),

According to the Constitution, the state power in the
Republic of Uzbekistan is based on the principle of separation of powers into
legislative, executive, and judicial.

3.1.
Legislative
Branch of Powers: Parliament

3.1.1.
The Oliy Majlis of the Republic of
Uzbekistan

The highest representative body of the state is the Oliy
Majlis (the Supreme Assembly) of the Republic of Uzbekistan. This body
exercises legislative powers. The referendum of January 27 2002 approved a
proposal to change structure of the Oliy Majlis. The Oliy Majlis of the
Republic of Uzbekistan was enacted on June 1 2004 as a bicameral parliament
consisting of the Legislative chamber and the Senate. (The law amending the
Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan was officially published on May 22,
2003)

The Legislative (lower) chamber of the Republic of
Uzbekistan is composed of 150 deputies, of which 135 are elected by territorial
constituencies on a multi-party basis for the term of five years and 15
represent the
Ecological
Movement of Uzbekistan
.

The Senate (upper chamber) of the Republic of Uzbekistan
consists of territorial representatives (senators) of the Republic of
Karakalpakstan, of provinces of Uzbekistan and of Tashkent city, elected by the
local Legislature from among their members by secret ballot. Each territory
elects six senators. The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan appoints another
16 members of Senate from the most authoritative citizens.

Parliamentarians and senators are elected for a term of
five years. They cannot hold paid positions, except teaching and research,
during the term.

The Senate and the Legislative chamber of Oliy Majlis
adopt and amend the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
schedule referenda; define fundamental areas of foreign and domestic policy;
define the structure and competences of legislative, executive and judiciary
agencies; decide on issues of the national territory; regulate customs,
currency and credit systems; decide on taxes and other mandatory fees; approve
the national budget; convene the Central Election Commission; elect the Human
Rights Ombudsmen and her deputy; approve the Prime Minister; declare war,
national emergency, and nationwide mobilization; ratify or denounce
international treaties; and exercise other powers provided for by the
Constitution.

The exclusive powers of the Legislative chamber of Oliy
Majlis include election of its Speaker, Deputy Speakers, Committee Chairpersons
and their deputies; stripping parliamentarians of immunity; adoption of
enactments related to politics, socio-economics and domestic and foreign
polices of Uzbekistan; and adoption of parliamentary procedure and other
resolutions

The Senate has exclusive powers to elect Senate
Chairperson and his deputies, Committee Chairpersons and their deputies; to
approve the nominations for judges of the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court,
Higher Economic Court made by the President of Uzbekistan; to approve decisions
of the President of Uzbekistan to appoint or dismiss the Prosecutor General,
the Chairpersons of the Audit Chamber and of the National Security Service; to
approve the appointment and dismissal of heads of Uzbekistan's diplomatic
missions and of the Central Bank Chairperson proposed by the President of
Uzbekistan; to strip Senators of the immunity; to hear the reports by the
Prosecutor General, Central Bank Board; and to make enactments on politics,
socio-economics and foreign and domestic policy of Uzbekistan.

3.1.2.
Legislative
Process

The right to initiate legislation in the Oliy Majlis of
the Republic of Uzbekistan is vested in the President of the Republic of
Uzbekistan, the Republic of Karakalpakstan through the highest body of state
authority, the deputies of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the
Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Constitutional Court,
the Supreme Court, the Higher Economic Court, and the Prosecutor General Office
of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan passes laws,
decisions and other normative legal acts. Any bill is considered to have been
adopted when it is passed by a majority vote of the total number of the members
of the Legislative Chamber. Amendments to the Constitution or constitutional
laws are deemed to have been adopted when they are voted by the two thirds of
the Chamber members.

The Chamber passes the bill to the Senate that approves or
returns it. After the approval, the Senate sends the bill to the President of
Uzbekistan for signing. If the bill returned by the Senate is revoted and
supported by the two-thirds of the Chamber members, it is deemed to have been
adopted. The Senate may propose to the Chamber to work on a bill through a
joint reconciliation commission.

Promulgation of the laws and other normative acts is a
pre-requisite for their enforcement.

After the 25 December 2008 amendments to the law on the
Legislative Chamber, political parties represented in the Oliy Majlis are
allowed to voice their disagreement with the majority party or faction and
announce itself an opposition.

3.2.
Executive
Branch of Powers

The Executive branch of powers include: the President of
the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of
Uzbekistan, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, and
khokimiyats of regions and cities.

3.2.1.
Presidency

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan is the head of
state and the executive authority responsible for coherent functioning and
interaction of the public administration agencies in the Republic of
Uzbekistan. The 11 April 2007 constitutional amendment assigned the executive
power to the Cabinet of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan is elected for
a term of five years. It is the second change of the office term since 1991.
The original five-year term was extended to seven years by the 22 May 2003 law
and reduced back to five years by the 12 December 2011.

The powers of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan include:

·
To be a guarantor of human rights
and freedoms, of the respect of the Constitution and laws of Uzbekistan;

·
To take measures required for the
protection of the national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity;

·
To represent the country inside
and outside Uzbekistan;

·
To nominate to the Oliy Majlis the
candidates of the Prime-Minister, Ambassadors for missions abroad, of the
Senate Chairperson, of the Chairpersons and Judges of the Supreme Court, Higher
Economic Court and Constitutional Court, of the Chairpersons of the Central
Bank Board and of the State Committee for the Protection of Nature;

·
To appoint and dismiss the Prime
Minister, his First Deputy, the Deputy Prime Ministers, the members of the
Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Procurator General of
the Republic of Uzbekistan and his Deputies, and the Chairman of the Audit
Chamber;

·
To appoint and dismiss judges of
provincial, district, and city courts for criminal and civil cases, of military
and economic courts;

·
To appoint heads of state
administration of provinces and Tashkent city, nominated by the Prime Minister;

·
To sign the laws of the Republic
of Uzbekistan;

·
To serve as the Supreme Commander
of the Armed Forces of the Republic, to appoint and dismiss the high command of
the Armed Forces, and confer top military ranks;

·
To establish the national security
and state control services, to appoint and dismiss their heads, and exercise
other powers vested in him;

·
To suspend or terminate the
decisions of the public administration;

·
To declare the state of war and to
submit the declaration to the Oliy Majlis for approval;

·
To impose the state of emergency
and to submit the declaration to the Oliy Majlis for approval;

·
To award or strip of citizenship
and to grant asylum, and

·
To propose amnesty acts to the
Senate.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan issues
decrees, enactments and ordinances binding on the entire territory of the
Republic on the basis of enforcement of the Constitution and the laws of the
Republic of Uzbekistan.

3.2.2.
Government

The Cabinet of Ministers is a top executive power agency,
responsible for efficient management of economics, and social and spiritual sectors
and enforcement of laws, ordinances and decisions of the Oliy Majlis and the
President. It issues enactments and ordinances that are binding on all bodies
of administration, enterprises, institutions, organizations, officials and
citizens throughout the Republic of Uzbekistan.

According to the Constitution, the majority party or
faction nominates its candidate for the Prime-Minister and submits it to the
President of Uzbekistan's for approval. After the President approves the
nomination, the Legislative Chamber and Senate vote on it. The Prime-Minister
submits the nominations for the Cabinet for the President's approval. The Oliy
Majlis can remove The Prime-Minister, if the President of Uzbekistan approves
their motion of no confidence. The President of Uzbekistan consults with
political parties and factions to nominate a new candidate. If the nominee is
not approved by the Oliy Majlis twice, the President dissolves the Parliament
and appoints a Prime-Minister.

The
judicial system
in the
Republic of Uzbekistan consists of: the Constitutional Court of the Republic
of Uzbekistan, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Higher
Economic Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Supreme Courts of
Karakalpakstan on civil and criminal cases, the Economic Court of the Republic
of Karakalpakstan, provincial courts on criminal and civil cases, Tashkent city
courts on criminal and civil cases, inter-district, district and town courts on
criminal and civil cases and military and economic courts. These courts' judges
are elected for terms of five years.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan
hears cases relating to the constitutionality of laws, normative legal acts and
decisions passed by the legislative and executive branches, interprets the
Constitution and laws of Uzbekistan, and exercises other competences specified
by laws.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan
assesses the conformity of the Constitution and laws of Karakalpakstan to the
Constitution and laws of Uzbekistan, the constitutionality of the laws of the
Republic of Uzbekistan and other acts passed by the Oliy Majlis, the decrees
issued by the President, the enactments of the government, and the ordinances
of local authorities, as well as responsibilities of the Republic of Uzbekistan
under international treaties and other documents.

The
Supreme Court
of the
Republic of Uzbekistan is the highest judicial body of civil, criminal, and
administrative justice. The rulings of the Supreme Court are final and binding
throughout the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Supreme Court of the Republic of
Uzbekistan has the right to supervise the administration of justice by the
Supreme Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, as well as by provincial,
city, town, and district courts. The Supreme Court issues
interpretations
and guidances
for application of law that are binding for lower
courts and recommendatory for law-enforcement agencies (in Russian and Uzbek).

Economic courts try economic disputes between
entrepreneurs, public and private businesses and organizations.

Mediation tribunals are not a part of the judicial power.
They adjudicate disputes between businesses that choose to submit them to the
tribunals. The submission to their competence is voluntary, though their decisions
are binding. They cost less and last shorter than civil or economic court
hearings.

·
Database "Pravo"
(Uzbek,
English, Russian), a regularly updated database of laws, ordinances and other
normative legal acts issued by the public administration agencies of
Uzbekistan, ratified international agreements and guidances on the application
of certain laws of the Supreme Court

[i]
'Uzbek' is more appropriate to designate ethnicity or
language-based affiliation.

[ii]
Like other post-Soviet countries, it retains
to certain extent one of the Soviet law's core principle which views law as an
extension and expression of the government policies.

Hauser Global Law School Program, New York University School
of Law
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